Emergency Preparation

[samclem]

Good idea. How would you put a door on this? I would think thin metal hinges would melt. What kind of latch / closure would hold up to heat?

Yes, steel outside the drywall would be subject to melting. One could use high-temp steel hinges (Inconel= $$) and put it on the outside, or use hinges that fit entirely internal (e.g European-style concealed hinges). The simplest approach is to just make a hatch/panel that clips into place using spring catches--all on the inside.

BTW: If functionality and "quick" is more important than looks, aluminum foil tape works well for dressing the edges of the drywall sheets for a project like this. AL foil stuck on the outside of the whole box will help reflect radiant heat, and AL foil on the inside of the box (if not in contact with the safe inside) will provide a low emissivity surface. All of this may buy a few additional minutes of safety for the contents.

 

[FinanceGeek]

My brother is a Mormon, and he says the church instructs them to can and stockpile goods to survive 6 or 12 months.

IANAM, but I know several families who do this. Some do it ad-hoc, by buying extra groceries from time to time. But there are a number of companies that serve this market, it turns out to be quite inexpensive to purchase 1 year supply of food (scale quantity for each family member) from them. The packaging of these kits is reasonably compact and time tested. No refrigeration required. The kit shelf lives run 10+ years. You do have to store a lot of water, cooking oil, etc. to reconstitute the food and obviously must have fuel to cook with.

Start with a google search of "1 year food kit", etc. I don't believe you have to demonstrate LDS membership to order these kits

 

[NW-Bound]

Basic supplies already on the RV and we keep it full of fuel.

I do not keep my RV tank full, as I am afraid that the gas will go stale, even though I do add Sta-Bil (a gas additive) when I do not think I will drive it for a while.

It would be a long walk all the way from TX to NJ. If the scorpions and rattlesnakes did not get you, the refinery waste and radioactive dumps would.

How so? Reasonable preparations for 3 days to a week with no services after a disaster don't seem like tinfoil hat territory. It takes that long for the gubmint to get it together and start sorting out the mess.

Why would anyone need any preparation for that short amount of time? My wife always chokes up our two refrigerators with food, so that the freezer compartments alone will keep us fed for two weeks or more. Granted, we will finally eat that freezer-burnt meat in the back of the freezers, but hey, beggars cannot be choosy, right? And then, our pantry is always overflowing with canned goods that my wife bought on sales.

Yeah, a little disaster is what we need to clear all that food out. As for water, our swimming pool has 25,000 gallons of nicely chlorinated water for consumption .

The only problem is if this happens in the summer and power is out (it would not be a disaster without water and power outage, right?), people would be dropping like flies in the 120-deg heat. It would not be pretty.

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

I laugh politely about people who say they prepare for the worst but have a sliding glass door next to where bricks border their flowers.

If you want to have a laugh, even if an uneasy laugh read the zombie survival guide.

If your home will not survive a couple brain dead slow moving zombies, how could it survive a brain addled addict? Sounds tin foil hattish but I upgraded a few things and secured some windows and doors.

Was particularly gratifying to make my garage side access door kick resistant and see a big old boot foot print in the middle of my unmoved door a few weeks later. Apparently when the throbbing subsided he kicked in my neighbors garage access door.

 

[East Texas]

IANAM, but I know several families who do this. Some do it ad-hoc, by buying extra groceries from time to time. But there are a number of companies that serve this market, it turns out to be quite inexpensive to purchase 1 year supply of food (scale quantity for each family member) from them. The packaging of these kits is reasonably compact and time tested. No refrigeration required. The kit shelf lives run 10+ years. You do have to store a lot of water, cooking oil, etc. to reconstitute the food and obviously must have fuel to cook with.

Start with a google search of "1 year food kit", etc. I don't believe you have to demonstrate LDS membership to order these kits

The problem with the red bolded statement is this food is not in your normal diet. Even though the kits may contain food you sometimes eat, it is not prepared (e.g. lots of salt) as you would normally prepare it. One of the worst things you can do during an event is to suddenly change your diet. Not only are you dealing with the stress of the event, your body is stressing over a change in food. This is one of those times you needed to have stocked up on toilet paper.

Everything we have in our long-term storage is a normal part of our pantry - just more of it. For instance, we buy most of our long-term storage from Honeyville Grains. We buy cases of rice, milk, beans, dehydrated/freeze-dried veggies, meat, wheat berries, etc. All of that food is incorporated into our regular meals. We signed up for the email alerts so we are notified of sales. About once a year they have a 15% off and that's when I do my bulk ordering. The discount does not apply to their flat $4.49 shipping costs.

Long-term storage is not just food. You need sanitary supplies, first aid supplies, clothes / bath soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes - anything you use on a regular basis. The easiest way to do this is to keep your grocery lists and see how much you use of what item.

The most likely problem you face today is not the Armageddon, tornadoes, ice storms, nuclear accidents, etc. It's identity theft. I'm sure some of you have subscriptions to monitoring services. They're all after-the-fact notifications. The ID theft has already occurred. You may be "insured" for some sum of money if your identity is stolen. This is where you need to read the fine print. If your identity is stolen, it's up to you to do all the paperwork. It could take you years to clear your name. In the meantime you'll discover the bad credit (although it really wasn't your fault) has permeated every aspect your life. Fraud alerts really don't protect you, even though they should. You need to seriously consider a credit freeze.

State Security Freeze Laws

 

[Telly]

ahhhh...that would be Preparation H.

Well I'm glad somebody got it!

 

[Coach]

Nothing extensive -- just a 3 day kit from Red Cross, some bottled water and whatever is in the house at the time.

Coach

 

[DJRR]

Started thinking about it after a few major storms that knocked out power for days for some and one that knocked out the Municipal pumping station for the weekend.

Ended up getting:

10-15 gallons of water, besides normal liquids in pantry
extra canned goods to supplement the pantry (also a crank can opener )
4 Coleman laterns and batteries, one has a crank generator
NOAA radio and batteries
Extra 20lb propane tank for my grill and a one burner coleman stove
First aid kits
~ 200 extra .357 rounds
Also made a bug out backpack for my car so I can get home from work. Includes water, clothes, energy bars, thermal blanket, knife, walking shoes, etc.
Finally made a family bug out tub with extra camping type equipment if we have to leave the house. Things like a fire starter, folding shovel, metal pot to boil water, tube tent, paracord, toilet paper, etc.

Cost a few hundred $$$, but well worth it. Last two times we lost power my daughters felt like daddy was taking care of them because we had lanterns and a radio and food, etc. We were not fools trying to go out in a blizzared to get supplies.

 

[EllisWyatt]

Man! This thread quickly got a lot of responses.

I second everything W2R listed. Having undergone two protracted evacuations - the family evacuated from Saudi (when Saddam came for his little visit to Kuwait) and all of us evacuated from Katrina - I try to keep my "Zombie Plan" fully charged at all times. A nice tupperware container with important documents ready to go if we have to leave, etc.etc. If we decide to stay, we have a whole house generator that runs the wells along with everything in the house (including the freezer - second W2R's comments on losing a fridge during Katrina - not pleasant). We keep the propane topped up during hurricane season, keep a 1 month supply of food and gasoline (gas is stored in in vehicles and equipment that we keep topped up) and - lesson learned during Katrina - am now armed. (Long story, but a series of events that hit WAY too close to home during the aftermath of Katrina helped me decide that it was time to re-asess a life-time aversion to guns).
In addition, we've moved to the country at the end of a mile long gravel road, so I consider that my "Zombie buffer".

No tin-foil - have just learned from experience. Don't consider myself paranoid (of course, who does?) but it's good to have a plan, especially in hurricane country.

 

[freebird5825]

DJRR - you listed a very important item...a NOAA radio and batteries.

It is a very good item to have on hand no matter where you live.
It is very smart to know what is going with weather after the power goes out.

I own a small 9V battery powered one with a telescoping antenna. It is a Radio Shack model from the 1990s and is just larger than my outstretched hand.

 

[Bestwifeever]

....I second everything W2R listed. Having undergone two protracted evacuations - the family evacuated from Saudi (when Saddam came for his little visit to Kuwait) and all of us evacuated from Katrina - I try to keep my "Zombie Plan" fully charged at all times....

I think our level of needing to feel prepared rests a lot on what we've gone through. As a child way way way back, I and my family were evacuated from a hostile country after lying low for maybe a couple of weeks. After that my father made sure to always have plenty of beer and cigarettes on hand to last him lest a similar situation arise.

Not living anywhere near hurricane country, our family is more likely to be dangerously affected by winter power outages than anything else, so I could see having a generator on hand, although not likely to be needed. We have been without power twice for extended periods (a week to ten days), both in the summertime, which was depressing but not life threatening.

If I lived a mile down a gravel driveway, I don't think I could sleep at night if I didn't have a firearm in the house.

 

[BigNick]

I'm making a list of people online who reveal that they have $1000 in cash in the house.

 

[brewer12345]

I'm making a list of people online who reveal that they have $1000 in cash in the house.

Make sure you note the presence of firearms, guard dogs, etc. on your list.

 

[EllisWyatt]

Actually, the mile long gravel road provides a nice feeling of security - in conjuntion with having the well-respected retired Sheriff of the Parish at the head of the gravel road and a 185 mastiff at our end (who looks extremely intimidating, even is he really is just a big Goomba).

 

[HFWR]

I wasn't really talking about planning for Armaggeddon, but should that occur, living out in the boonies on a self-sufficient homestead would eventually attract unwanted attention.

If thugs will knock an old lady in the head for her purse...

 

[devans0]

Having been there and done that, I look at things MUCH differently now. I was extremely lucky. I was married to a lady that rolled up her sleeves and worked and didn't complain. We were each others rock.
I had splurged on a generator the year before. It saved our butts. I lost nearly all of my tools, but was able to save a few. The most useful gun was a screw gun. In a few hours, We had shelter.
All of our banks were down, so access to money was completely lost for a couple of months. That was unexpected! Our safety deposit documents were all destroyed. We had saved our most important documents such as taxes, titles, passports, etc. and our computers. Our safe was inoperable and it's contents were destroyed. It is now in a hole under our basement. It was too heavy to move. That is how I learned how Stonehedge was built. I also have learned how to make potable water.
Looting wasn't a problem, except for a few scum that tore out plumbing and electrical wiring for the scrap copper, and the licensed contractors that upped their prices to 10X what they charged before. The people that weren't handy were at their mercy. I had always done my own work, became homeowner licensed, and we came out okay. It was neighbors that watched out for each other and helped each other that made it worthwhile. Those are the people that are the heroes.
I am better prepared now. I picked up a truck camper and a F350 diesel. The abuse that I put my Scion BoX through, hauling cement, 4 X 8s, countless 2 X 4s, PEX, tools, gas pipe. was unbelievable. It came through when I needed it and is still my favorite. A heavy truck would have been easier.

 

[braumeister]

Ham radio will always be the communication mode of last resort, that gets you in touch when nothing else will.

It's easier than ever these days to get an Amateur Radio license, and equipment is affordable, available, and easy to use.

The best place to begin, if you're interested, is:
American Radio Relay League | Ham Radio Association and Resources

 

[Ready-4-ER-at-14]

The crank radios are a great idea and I have one, as well as a backup plain old 9v radio, but even then check them as my rechargable internal battery seemed to have given out just sitting on the shelf.

I also have two separate small solar panels that can trickle charge a portable deep cycle 12 v battery and a couple small inverters to run ac off of dc.

In an emergency, those of us with old fashioned water heaters can shut off the incoming valve and gas and get drinkable water from that. Of course being this close to lake Michigan with 129,000,000,000,000 gallons of water, and water down maybe 12 feet below ground I doubt if that will be a huge problem here. People yes. Water no.

 

[REWahoo]

The crank radios are a great idea...

Yep. I think every crank should have one...

 

[freebird5825]

I have a very minor "emergency" (water outtage) to report, but an interesting one from the perspective of a lack of preparedness.
Approx 3 miles from my house, a municipal water main broke and caused a large sinkhole in the road. It took 4 days to repair it. Several of my friends who live there reported they had no water on hand in the house for drinking or cooking. No showers or toilets either.
I am on a different municipal water main than the one that broke. I asked each of my friends why they didn't call me to come up and fill jugs of water and use my shower*.
All I got were blank looks. They had simply assumed that all of the water supply feeds were down. Their focus was so narrow on their own localized outtage and the road closure that looking for a solution less than 3 miles away never occurred to them.

* I was afraid to ask what they did for a toilet. We do live in the country after all.

 

[braumeister]

I keep 10 one-gallon milk jugs full of water in the basement. I recycle the water through the house plants and the birdbath, but I always have the ten jugs on hand. The idea is that if we ever experience a water main break, we will at least have some water available for drinking and flushing toilets. If the repair takes longer, we can always buy water at the store, but I like having some handy.